Get Ready for Slate’s Redesign

For the next few weeks, select users will be seeing a preview of our new look.

For the next few weeks, a small percentage of readers who come to Slate will see a preview of the redesign we’re rolling out this fall. We’re very excited about our new look, which features a reinvented home page, improved navigation, and clean, elegant article pages designed to make reading a delight. (If you have feedback, send it to redesign@slate.com.)

We’ve randomly selected 1 percent of our readers to participate in a test of the redesign. During the testing period, whenever these users come to Slate, they’ll see a beta version of the new design. (We’re tracking users by browser, so it may be that you are part of the 1 percent when you use Firefox at work, and not part of it when you use Chrome at home; selected users will stay in the testing group until they clear their browser cookies.) The testing period will allow us to kick the tires and make sure everything works right before we release the new look to everyone.

If you’re one of the readers who’s been selected to test our new look, there are a few things you should know. First, thanks for being a guinea pig! We appreciate it.

Second, there are a few features that aren’t available during this testing period (though they will be functional when the redesign launches for real). The most notable of these is commenting. If you’re one of the testers and you’ve got thoughts on Slate stories you’re dying to share, it’s easy to switch back to the older version of the site: Just clear your browser’s cookies, head to slate.com and you’ll be good to go.

Third, we welcome your thoughts and feedback on the new Slate. Send comments and questions to redesign@slate.com.

We’ll post more about the new design and how it works when it launches early this fall. Stay tuned!